Orthotics Online - Health + Injury

Samuel Read

30/04/2003 at 17:02

Check out this site

www.orthoticsonline.co.uk

You can get orthotics that are designed for your feet without going for an expensive biomechanical assessment.

You just fill out this questionnaire and then you get sent a box that you take a cast of your feet with.

Then you get sent your orthotics.

And it only costs around £35!

It definitely worked for me and improved my running a great deal. I can definitely recommend it.

annajo

30/04/2003 at 17:06

£35? I looked on that website a couple of weeks ago and didn't see that. Wherabouts on the site?

(or is it really obvious and I am just blind?)

By the way, youre not connected with them in any way, samuel, are you?

Twin Dad Twice

30/04/2003 at 17:19

Had a look at the site - the podiatrist chap behind it all is called Graham Read, so Samuel might just be related...

But...35 quid does seem a reasonable price for the service especially when you hear horror stories of runners being fleeced for hundreds. And even if the orthotics don't make a great difference, you can chuck em without toooo much financial pain.

(By the way, I'm not related!)

Personally I'm lucky enough to find that sorborthane doublestrike insoles are enough for me.

SS - The Last Unicorn

30/04/2003 at 17:58

Depends what's causing the problem as to wheter or not this could work.

You pays your money....and get fleeced usually. The number of 'it's only £35' I wasted trying to find a cure for my shins via physios / osteopaths / RW Doctor (£75)/ podiatrist etc - and who ever asks for their money back from them ? (well ok - I did actually - got a £25 refund from the RW dr for useless Spenco orthotics which didn't address the leg length discrepancy he missed)

Yet £165 all in for as many consultations as it took - as many pre and post orthotic video gait analaysis as needed and endless after care, advice and support made getting proper preofessional expertise - when I eventually found it - invaluable

Quite how this online service could diagnose leg length discrepancies / a twisted pelvis, spine and neck - which my podiatrist clearly saw when he saw me (and also MiniSS) walking, beats me.

annajo

30/04/2003 at 18:00

weird-the site has changed since I looked at it last.

but t+tm, the orthotic maker is called Bob and Toast man - are you sure you aren't related to him?

alan.

30/04/2003 at 18:08

I'm with SS here - I think
if your gonna go down that route you might as well try diagnose yourself and then shove some felt or foam down your shoes in the roughly right area ??

annajo

30/04/2003 at 18:11

ive emailed them for a questionnaire- interesting to see what is going on here

Bearing in mind I am very aware of my pattern of overpronation, as it is my line of work to know these things, I am going to see what they are like, ill let you know if I go ahead or not, once theyy ask me to part with money.

Bit cheeky of Samuel not to ackowledge a connection, if there is one, though.

Alan - if I tell you where I want the foam, and in what height/angle, would you make me a set for a fiver?!

ultra meerkat

30/04/2003 at 19:06

I'm with SS too. A proper pod needs to see you run, for fairly obvious reasons. And then s/he needs to know about the biomechanics of running. And then s/he needs to be able to analyse all the info to come up with the right orthotics and recommend other treatment, if needed.

Samuel Read

01/05/2003 at 01:59

Fair points everyone, but the site doesn't promise a "magical cure". But £35 is a good price for professional advice without the £75 wasted for private consultation.

I couldn't afford to go for a full consultation and splash out £100 to £200 to have full insoles made but it beats making your own and " shoving some felt or foam down your shoes in the roughly right area" and making the problem worse! As I have at times.

As I said it worked for me.

And no I'm not related, sorry to dissapoint everybody. Jolly good name that chap's got though!

graeme hadlow

01/05/2003 at 10:00

Very interesting...
As a runner and podiatrist who specialises in podiatric biomechanics, I find it worrying that my profession has not helped with so many.
Firstly , orthoses should be prescribed by a specialist, I would never recomend self diagnosis, for example adding a heel lift for a supposed leg length difference could seriously damage your running!
It is worth noting that there are alot of podiatrists who claim to specialise in biomechanics... frankly I would go with a personal recomendation and always ensure that they are at the very least state registered (SRCH).
Ideally they should have gained or are studying for post graduate accreditation in podiatric biomechanics eg Diploma clinical podiatric biomechanics or Msc etc.
it is also worth noting if they have an interest in sports biomechanics, although not necessarily just running.
If yours doesn't find one that does.
On a personal note, orthoses do work,if they dont do as the pod hoped I would suggest you go back and ask why?

Samuel Read

01/05/2003 at 13:23

It depends on how serious a runner you are. I'm not a hard-core runner I just do it to keep fit so the OO system worked for me.

But, having spoken to friends who have had professional biomechanical assesments if you're a serious die-hard runner then I agree with Graeme above.

ultra meerkat

01/05/2003 at 13:41

Samuel - I'm glad it worked for you, but I feel very strongly that this is potentially (a) a waste of money and (b) setting one's self up for injury later down the line. If someone is having a problem with their running I think it's essential that they get a proper face to face assessment, from a highly-qulified professional. Running involves so many muscles, tendons, ligaments etc and any misalignment or imbalance just can't be diagnosed without being - literally - seen.
And I think this applies all runners, whatever their ability.

annajo

01/05/2003 at 14:09

hey lets not attack samuel too much on this- my perspective on this is that I am well-informed about how my running style is, and I like the idea of getting a cheap pair of orthotics to fit my feet, then I can wear neutral (i.e. cheaper) trainers, rather than wearing overpronation trainers that usually feel heavier (not that I have a pair of beautiful adidas neutral trainers sitting at home just waiting for orthotics, or anything...!). The difference in wearing orthotics or wearing overpronation trainers would be relatively slight. If you trust your own knowledge of your running gait, and the orthotics makers seem to know what they are doing (no judgement on that as of yet, no experience of them), then this isn't a bad service.

But....

I totally agree that this is not a way to sort out any gait-related problems that are causing injury. If you are having problems that you need to seek professional help for, then this 'fitting service' would probably not be a good route to follow, for the reasons mentioned above by a number of people. This is when you need to have yourself checked out properly (i.e. someone looking at you)

annajo

01/05/2003 at 14:10

my picture came up!!!

(sorry, off topic, -but Im excited!)

ultra meerkat

01/05/2003 at 14:16

Hi annajo - I'm not attacking Samuel at all, just cautioning against using the service he's very enthusiastic about. I've spent way too much money on duff advice and duff orthotics and don't want anyone else to do the same.

Lawrence Bevan

01/05/2003 at 21:26

This sort of thing is now rife on the net.

As a Podiatrist, I cant get custom made moulded foot orthoses for this price and having run a custom foot orthotic laboratory hand made orthotics cannot be made this cheaply. Im not saying what your getting is not moulded to your foot impression but I know of at least one such company where the foam box impression is thrown in the bin and a pre-formed othotic shell of the appropriate shoe size is picked up off the shelf, covered with pvc and sent out. They dont add any wedging, posting or any modification whatsoever but they tell you they do. I cannot name the company because although this is widely known amongst Podiatrist they are so litigious that they have attempted to sue individuals that repeat this info on forums such as these.

Quite frankly it is imposssible for this company to produce orthotics have been designed to control foot motion otherwise they would get it wrong more times as they get it right. A lawsuit would be winging there way very quickly. (My opinion only, Mr Lawyer)

Applying wedging or padding to your shoe sockliners would probably be much better, if you could be sufficiently objective about yourself - I prescribed othotics for myself and got it wrong despite doing it successfully for others day in, day out!! Got a colleague to sort me out.

I personally offer free inital consultations and a open-ended adjustment service with money back guarantee if you cant wear them or get zero relief (provided you give me them back!) I get very little abuse of this, yes I prescribe less orthotics but I sleep easier.

Lawrence

ultra meerkat

01/05/2003 at 22:34

Lawrence - now that is REALLY worrying.

Muttley

01/05/2003 at 22:39

Graeme, Lawrence,

I hear what you say about qualified podiatrists. Unfortunately, there are sharks in your profession. I had a full treadmill running gait analysis, tailor-made orthotics, the whole shebang, with a guy near Harley Street.

The problem I went to see him about remained unsolved. In the meantime, he found a whole range of other problems that led to X-rays, special manipulations, you name it. I eventually quit and went elsewhere, but not before I'd left hundreds of pounds with him over a period of a few months.

He had more letters than the alphabet after his name, and a consulting room in which you could barely see the walls for certificates. I found him through an ad in RW.

I really can't see how I was to know he was a charlatan. He had all the patter and embodied the old saying that if you can't dazzle 'em with diamonds then baffle 'em with bullsh*t. The last I heard was that he'd been struck off.

It's stuff like this that drives people towards the kind of solution that Samuel has highlighted.

ultra meerkat

01/05/2003 at 22:54

Muttley - you poor thing. Are you sorted now??

Muttley

02/05/2003 at 09:30

I am! Well, more or less. It was a dicky knee (damaged in a childhood incident) that will probably need internal examination at some point. In the meantime, a basic support strap bought in Boots for £7 is doing a nice job of holding it in place. Wish I'd tried that before leaving my wedge with the poddie.